Phoenix police planning outreach at Phoenix Comicon

PHOENIX — If you head to downtown Phoenix in the next few days, you might think it’s a zombie apocalypse.

Fear not, it’s just a bunch of Comicon fanatics headed to the Phoenix Convention Center.

Thousands of people are expected to turn out for this annual event, including officers from the Phoenix Police Department. Comicon organizers reached out to the department and invited them to host a series of educational sessions and the department agreed.

“Who better to talk to than a bunch of 23-year-old wanna-be crime fighting super heroes,” said Sgt. Darren Burch. “I’ll be talking about homicide investigation, real-life investigations, not what you see on ‘CSI.’ I’ll be talking about the dangers of sexting and bullying.”

Burch said he will tailor the sessions to appeal to those who love comics.

“The key is between those Comicon folks, who love their superheroes, and Silent Witness, which is real crime fighting in the community. Our superpower is anonymity,” he said.